The US version of the American
Idol competition began in June, 2002 with
10,000 entrants. The show was a hit its first
season for FOX and grew into a monster TV hit
in the following years - kick-starting the
music careers of many singers and spawning
similar shows in hundreds of countries. The
winner of the show receives a recording
contract, although the success of the show
has resulted in several of the top singers
getting contracts and acting opportunities. American
Idol's roots began with the UK version, Pop
Idol, early in 2002 with the winner Will
Young later topping UK Singles
charts and breaking single-sales records.

The television show American
Idol: The Search for a Superstar debuted
on FOX with the judges Simon Cowell,
Paula
Abdul, and Randy Jackson.
The trio became the decision-makers of who
would move on further within the competition
before the American public began the
selection process.

Season 1 winner: Kelly ClarksonJustin Guarini (voted off
September 4)Nikki McKibbon (voted off
August 28)Tamyra Gray (voted off
August 21)RJ Helton (voted off August
14)Christina Christian (voted
off August 7)Ryan Starr (voted off July
31)A.J. Gil (voted off July 24)Jim Verraros (voted off July
17)EJay Day (voted off July
17).

With 2
remaining finalists, Kelly Clarkson and Justin
Guarini, America voted Kelly Clarkson as the first US
American Idol with 58% of the votes. The American
Finalists along with winner Kelly Clarkson performed live in Las
Vegas for a special concert airing on Fox.

American
Idol Greatest Moments was released and
included tracks from all Top 10 finalists
including 4 tracks by Kelly Clarkson, 2 by Justin
Guarini, and 1 group song (a cover
of "California Dreamin'"). The 10
finalists also toured for 6 weeks during
October and November. Justin Guarini
and Tamyra Gray both signed
a record deal with Simon's label.

The second
outing of American Idol was back on
the TV screens. Simon Cowell,
Paula
Abdul, and Randy Jackson
were back as judges and ratings continued to
soar.

Tamyra Gray
started appearing in episodes of Boston
Public on FOX.

Season 2 winner: Ruben
StuddardClay Aiken (voted off May 21)Kimberley Locke (voted off
May 14)Joshua Gracin (voted off May
7)Trenyce (voted off April 30)Carmen Rasmusen (voted off
April 23)Kimberly Caldwell (voted off
April 16)Rickey Smith (voted off
April 9)Corey Clark (kicked off over
assault allegations April 2)
Julia DeMato (voted off March 26)
Charles Grigsby (voted off March 19)
Vanessa Olivarez (voted off March
12)

The Season 2 American
Idol Finalists recorded a charity
single of Lee Greenwood's
"God
Bless The USA."

Justin Guarini
released his debut LP - Justin
Guarini.Ruben Studdard
hit the Top 40 with "Flying Without Wings." Clay Aiken topped the Billboard
Hot 100 Singles chart for 2 weeks and Hot 100
Singles Sales chart for 11 weeks with "This Is The Night" selling over
392,000 copies its first week of release in
the US - compared to over 285,000 copies Ruben
Studdard sold with "Flying Without Wings" which came in at
#2. The same #1-#2 debut occurred on the
Canadian singles chart. Ruben Studdard
topped the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop
Singles Sales chart for 8 weeks with
"Superstar / Flying Without Wings." Ruben Studdard
filmed a cameo appearance as himself for next
years film Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters
Unleashed. Kelly Clarkson and Justin
Guarini's movie - From
Justin To Kelly- hit theaters and
only grossed 2.9 million dollars its first
week of release (coming in at #11 for the
weekend of its release).

Justin Guarini
was facing legal troubles after being accused
of being reckless on a jet ski in Texas and
almost injuring a 5 year old girl. The American Idol finalists
began touring together. The tour did not
include Josh Gracin because
he was "unable to complete his required
training (in the Marines) in the allotted
time." American Idol was
nominated for 6 Emmy Awards. Ruben Studdard's
single "Flying Without Wings/Superstar" was certified
gold.

Ruben Studdard
appeared on the cover of Rolling
Stone. Ruben Studdard
filed a lawsuit against the clothing line 205
Flava Inc claiming they were unfairly
profiting by using his image to promote their
clothing which has the large '205' across the
front. The clothing received much publicity
whenStuddard wore the
shirts while on American Idol. The
lawsuit was later settled.

Justin Guarini
was hit with a lawsuit by a couple whose car
was hit from behind byGuarini's
truck in Pennsylvania last March.

Justin Guarini
was reportedly dropped by his record label,
RCA. His debut LP had sold 134,000 copies. American
Idol Christmas was certified gold.Ruben Studdard
released his debut LP, Soulful.Ruben Studdard
topped the Billboard 200 LP chart for a week
with Soulful selling over 416,000
copies its first week of release in the US. Ruben Studdard
hit the Top 40 with "Sorry 2004." Ruben Studdard
topped the Billboard
Year-End Charts with the Top Hot
R&B/Hip-Hop Single Sales ("Flying Without Wings/Superstar").

American
Idol 3 began.Soulful was certified
platinum. Ruben Studdard
topped the Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop
Albums chart for 2 weeks with Soulful.Kimberley Locke
hit the Top 40 with "Eighth World Wonder."

Season 3 winner: Fantasia
BarrinoDiano DeGarmo (voted off May
26)Jasmine Trias (voted off May
19)LaToya London (voted off May
12)George Huff (voted off May
5)John Stevens (voted off
April 28)Jennifer Hudson(voted
off April 21)Jon Peter Lewis (voted off
April 15)Camile Velasco (voted off
April 7)Amy Adams (voted off March
31)Matthew Rogers (voted off
March 24)Leah LaBelle (voted off
March 17)

A surprise star came out of the
American Idol 3 auditions in the form of William
Hung who was best remembered for his
rendition of "She Bangs." The
result was being booted by the judges early
on, but gaining a following and eventually a
recording deal with Kock Records and the
release of Inspiration.Kimberley Locke
hit the Top 10 with "Eighth World Wonder." American
Idol Season 3: Greatest Soul Classics was released.Elton
Johnechoed the
feelings of many American Idol fans
after Jennifer Hudson was felt to be
prematurely voted out of the contest:
"The three people I was really impressed
with, and they just happened to be black,
young female singers, and they all seem to be
landing in the bottom three. They have great
voices. The fact that they're constantly in
the bottom three - and I don't want to set
myself up here - but I find it incredibly
racist." The following week, voters
appeared to redeem themselves by letting go
John Stevens, who received consistent
negative feedback from the judges.

Kimberley Locke
released One
Love.Kimberley Locke
topped the Billboard Hot Dance Singles Sales
chart with the remixes of "Eighth World Wonder." Tamyra Gray
released her debut LP The
Dreamer.Fantasia
Barrinowas named the
American Idol for Season 3. Her first single
"I Believe" was co-written by Tamyra
Gray.

Season 4 winner: Carrie
UnderwoodBo Bice (voted off May 25)Vonzell Solomon (voted off
May 18)Anthony Fedorov (voted off
May 11)Scott Savol (voted off May
4)Constantine
Maroulis (voted off April 27)Anwar Robinson (voted off
April 20)Nadia Turner (voted off
April 13)Nikko Smith (voted off April
6)Jessica Sierra (voted off
March 30)Mikalah Gordon (voted off
March 24)Lindsey Cardinale (voted off
March 16)

Bo Bice told Rolling
Stone that he was happy he didn't win American
Idol: "The label 'American Idol'
was not for me. I'm not a pop person. It
would have been harder to play my kind of
music if I had won." Bo Bice
released the single "Inside
Your Heaven / Vehicle." Bo Bice got
married.Josh Gracin's Josh
Gracin was certified gold.

Kimberley Locke
topped the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart
with "Up On The Housetop."Bo Bice
released The
Real Thing.Bo Bice was
rushed to the hospital due to complications
from his recent intestinal surgery. Ruben Studdard
topped the Billboard
Year-End Charts as the Top Gospel
Artist and with the Top Gospel Album (I
Need An Angel).

Bo Bice hit the
Top 40 with "The Real Thing."The 5th season
of American Idol began.

Season 5 winner: Taylor
HicksKatharine McPhee (voted off
May 24)Elliott Yamin (voted off May
17)Chris Daughtry (voted off May 10)Paris Bennett (voted off May
3)Kellie Pickler (voted off
April 26)Ace Young (voted off April
19)Bucky Covington (voted off
April 12)Mandisa
(voted off April 5)Lisa Tucker (voted off March
29)Kevin Covais (voted off
March 22)Melissa McGhee (voted off
March 15)

Taylor Hicks
released the CD single "Do I Make You Proud / Takin' It To The
Streets." Katharine
McPhee released the CD single
"My Destiny / Somewhere Over The
Rainbow."

Taylor Hicks
topped the Billboard Hot 100 chart, Pop 100
chart, and Hot Singles Sales chart with
"Do I Make You Proud / Takin' It To The
Streets." Taylor Hicks
topped the Canadian singles chart with "Do I Make You Proud / Takin' It To The
Streets." Taylor Hicks
hit the Top 40 with "Do I Make You Proud."

Season 6 winner: Jordin
SparksBlake Lewis (voted off
May 23)Melinda Doolittle (voted
off May 16)Lakisha Jones (voted off
May 9)Chris Richardson (voted
off May 2)Philip Stacy (voted off
May 2)Sanjaya Malakar (voted
off April 18)Haley Scarnato (voted
off April 11)
Gina Glocksen (voted off April
4)
Chris Sligh (voted off March 28)
Stephanie Edwards (voted off
March 21)Brandon Rogers
(voted off March 14)

Season 7 winner: David CookDavid Archuleta (voted
off May 21)Sysha Mercado (voted off
May 14)
Jason Castro (voted off May 7)Brooke White (voted off
April 30)Carly Smithson (voted
off April 23)Kristy Lee Cook (voted
off April 16)
Michael Johns (voted off April
9)
Ramiele Maluba (voted off April
2)Chikeze (voted off March
26)Amanda Overmyer (voted
off March 19)David Hernandez (voted
off March 12)

David Cook was
named the American Idol with 56% of the vote. David Cook made
chart history on the Billboard Hot 100 chart
when 11 of his songs debuted on the chart in
the same week - American Idol allowed
downloads from finalists to be reported on
the iTunes charts. Cook hit the chart with
the songs "The Time Of My Life," "Dream
Big," "I Still Haven't Found What
I'm Looking For," "The World I
Know," "I Don't Want To Miss A
Thing," "Billie Jean,"
"Always Be My Baby,"
"Hello," "The Music Of The
Night," "Eleanor Rigby", and
"I'm Alive." Elliott Yamin could
be heard on the compilation Disneymania,
Vol. 6 with the track "Can You
Feel The Love Tonight."

Kimberley Locke
topped the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play
chart with "Fall."

David Archuleta
hit the Top 40 with "Crush." David Archuleta
topped the Billboard Hot Digital Songs chart
and Hot Digital Tracks chart with "Crush."It was
announced that the next season of American
Idol would add a 4th judge -
singer-songwriter Kara DioGuardi.

David Cook
topped the Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary
Tracks chart with "The Time Of My Life." Taylor Hicks appeared
from June into September on Broadway in the
revival of Grease playing the Teen
Angel.

Kellie Pickler released
her 2nd LP Kellie
Pickler (Billboard peak: # 9) and topped the
Billboard Country Albums chart. David Cook
hit the Top 40 with "Light On."

Season 8 winner: Kris Allen
Adam Lambert (voted off March
20)
Danny Gokey ( voted off May 13)
Allison Iraheta ( voted off May
6)
Matt Giraud (voted off April 15
but saved by judges and voted off April
29)
Anoop Desai (voted off April 22)
Lil Rounds (voted off April 22)
Scott MacIntyre (voted off April
8)
Megan Joy (voted off April 1)
Michael Sarver (voted off March
26)
Alexis Grace (voted off March
18)
Jasmine Murray (voted off March
11)
Jorge Nunez (voted off March 11)

Season 9 winner: Lee DeWyzeCrystal Bowersox (voted
off May 26)
Lacey Brown (voted off March 17)
Paige Miles (voted off March 24)
Didi Benami (voted off March 31)
Andrew Garcia (voted off April
14)
Katie Stevens (voted off April
14)
Tim Urban (voted off April 21)
Siobhan Magnus (voted off April
28)
Aaron Kelley (voted off May 5)
Michael Lynche (voted off April
7 but saved by judges - voted off May 12)
Casey James (voted off May 19)

Season 10 finalists:Scott McCreery
Ashton Jones (voted off March 10th)
Karen Rodriguez (voted off March
17th)
Naima Adedapo (voted off March 31st)
Thia Megia (voted off March 31st)
Pia Toscano (voted off April 7th)
Paul McDonald (voted off April 14th)
Stefano Langone (voted off April
21st)
Casey Abrams (voted off April 28th)Jacob Lusk (voted off May
5th)
James Durbin (voted off May 12th)
Haley Reinhart (voted off May 19th)
Lauren Alaina (voted off May 25th)

Note: Song title and
position links lead you to the song's Top
40 chart run (from the ARC Weekly Top
40)
and LP links take you to Amazon.com's page for that LP
(often including track listings and sound
samples).